Retail accounting services for New Jersey stores
A store can be busy every day and still end the year unsure of what it earned. Sales come in through the register as cash and cards, inventory goes out in small amounts, suppliers are paid on different terms, and sales tax depends on what was sold. Our retail accounting services bring those pieces into one set of books, reconciled every month, so the numbers you see are the numbers your tax return and sales tax filings use.
We work with shops, boutiques, specialty food and markets, apparel stores and other retailers in New Jersey. One dedicated specialist keeps your books in QuickBooks Online and handles the filings that come out of them.
What our retail bookkeeping services include
POS, cash and card reconciliation
Each month we take your POS sales summaries and match them to what actually reached the bank: card batches net of processing fees, cash deposits and any gift card or store credit activity. Processing fees are recorded as expenses, not hidden in net deposits, and cash over/short is tracked so gaps show up early. Every bank and card account is reconciled as part of our monthly bookkeeping.
Inventory and cost of goods sold
Inventory purchases are recorded as inventory, not as expenses on the day you pay. Using your POS inventory reports or periodic counts, we record cost of goods sold, so your gross margin is real rather than a reflection of when you happened to restock. If your QuickBooks file was set up without inventory in mind, QuickBooks setup or a QuickBooks cleanup comes first.
New Jersey sales tax for retailers
New Jersey’s sales tax rate is 6.625%, but not everything a store sells is taxable. Most clothing and footwear is exempt, while accessories, fur clothing and sports equipment are not, and most grocery food is exempt while prepared food is taxed. Businesses certified in an Urban Enterprise Zone may charge a reduced rate, half the regular rate, on most retail sales of goods. We check that your POS separates taxable and exempt items, and prepare your New Jersey sales tax returns from the reconciled figures: quarterly Form ST-50, and monthly remittance statements on Form ST-51 when your tax volume requires them.
Inventory bought for resale can usually be purchased without sales tax by giving the supplier a Resale Certificate, Form ST-3. Supplies the store uses itself are taxable.
Other New Jersey items for some retailers
Stores that sell food, beverages, tobacco or other litter-generating products may owe New Jersey’s Litter Control Fee, due March 15 each year. Retailers with less than $500,000 in gross receipts from those products are excluded. Stores selling cigarettes also need a state cigarette license, renewed every year. We track these dates alongside your regular filings.
Payroll and year-end
We set up payroll so wages and payroll taxes post to your books each pay period, with filings available on request. At year-end we prepare your business tax return, federal and New Jersey, from the books we kept. If you pay outside contractors, we prepare their 1099 forms too.
Reports a store owner can use
Each month you get a profit and loss statement and balance sheet, with sales, cost of goods sold and gross margin at the top, then rent, payroll, card fees and other operating costs. If your POS tracks departments or product categories, we can report sales by category, so you can see which lines carry the store. Seasonal stores see how the slow months compare with the busy ones, which helps when ordering inventory or planning cash for rent and payroll.
Opening a store or catching up
If you are opening a new store, we can register your business with New Jersey for sales tax before the first sale. If your books are months behind, catch-up bookkeeping rebuilds them from bank statements and POS reports.
How we work with retailers
- Free consultation. A 15–30 minute call or a visit to your store.
- Fee agreed upfront. Set individually by transactions, accounts and reporting frequency, before any work starts.
- One specialist. The same person handles your books, sales tax and questions, in English or Turkish.
We work with stores across Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Hudson and Morris counties and in New York. Book a free consultation to talk about your store’s books.
